Illinois Football: Jalen Mayala receives offer from Illini

The Illinois football team needs to build up their defense for the future, and that is what they are trying to accomplish with one of their most recent scholarship offers.

Illinois’ defense has a lot of weak spots right now. Building great depth is extremely important because if you don’t have guys to sub in that are quality players, the team will struggle. I believe we are seeing that this season. But getting a player like Jalen Mayala would help solve those depth problems.

Mayala is a 6-foot-6, 210-pound weak-side defensive end from Archer High School in Lawrenceville, Georgia. He is rated as a three-star recruit who is the No. 919 player in the class of 2020 and the No. 40 weak-side defensive end in the nation. He is also the No. 84 player in the state of Georgia.

The Illini are a little late to this party. Mayala already has around 16 scholarship offers with some of the bigger programs being Mississippi State, Virginia and Purdue. But never say never on this one. I don’t believe he has cut his list down yet, so that leaves the door open for Illinois to, potentially, come in and make some waves.

Mayala is fascinating to watch play football. He is so big standing at 6-foot-6, but he is also quick for his size. He seems to play at a lot of defensive end and linebacker at the high school level. I would imagine he would be used more as an outside linebacker who can come down and play on the line for the Illini.

The ability for Mayala to play linebacker as well as defensive end would give Illinois flexibility. They could have him rush the passer, play zone or even cover tight ends in man coverage. This kid’s versatility is what makes him an intriguing option.

Illinois needs more players like Mayala on the team. He would be a great addition to a defense that needs more depth at just about every position. Let’s see if we can get in the running for this kid.